LET'S MOVE TO Cheddar

GORGEOUS SUNNY SPOT, FAMOUS FOR YOU KNOW WHAT…

- SOPHIE GALE

This sweet and sunny corner of Somerset is named for the surrounding cavernous landscape. The name of Cheddar is believed to derive from Old English ceodor or ravine, and Cheddar Gorge is the UK’s deepest at 137m. It is also famous for strawberries, which in the glory days were rushed to market via the picturesque Strawberry Line, and are still grown on the lower slopes of the Mendip Hills. Of course, there’s one other notable association: a certain cheese. There is a predominantly older demographic to this large village, but the average figures might be skewed by the 10,000-year-old Cheddar Man. His bones were discovered in Gough’s Cave in 1903.

IN THE ESTATE AGENT’S WINDOW

A notable architectural feature of Cheddar is tiny ‘Sundowner’ cottages, with four walls and a roof. If built-in one day between dawn and dusk, these dwellings gained their owner the right to live rent-free. But there are homes from every era, many displaying local stone. Expect to pay about £250,000 for a starter home, with four-bedroom detached family homes particularly in demand, and costing upwards of £450,000. Pretty nearby villages of note are Axbridge, Shipham and Wedmore.

BUTCHERS, BAKERS & COFFEE MAKERS

The leafy high street is pleasantly touristy and abuzz with independent shops. Cheddar cheese has been made in the area since 1170 when, so the story goes, a milkmaid left a pail of milk in a cave and came back to find a tasty transformation. Family business The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company preserves authentic production methods and the unique terroir of local pastures. Whole cheeses are made with unpasteurised milk and matured in caves. Other gems include The Leg Bender Cider shop, Old Rowlands Christmas Shop, and Moorcraft leather and sheepskin.

COUNTRY LIFE & CULTURE